Actor Ryo Yoshizawa appeared at the release event for "Pokemon LEGENDS ZA," the latest installment in the "Pokemon" series, held in Tokyo on October 15th. In reference to the dual nature of "day" and "night" in Miare City, the setting for the latest game, Yoshizawa was asked how he spends his daytime hours, to which he replied, "I do weight training." Due to his job as an actor, he said, "I sometimes gain or lose weight, and I think I need to keep my metabolism in shape so that it doesn't slow down easily, so I do weight training."
Yoshizawa revealed an episode from when he "leveled up" during weight training, saying, "The moment I lift a weight that I couldn't lift before, I get extremely excited. It's really exciting."
At the event, in reference to Mega Evolution, one of the features of the latest game, which is the evolution beyond Pokémon evolution, a photo of Yoshizawa from his childhood "before Mega Evolution" was shown. Shunsuke Ito of the comedy duo "Oswald," who appeared as a special guest, looked at the photo and said, "It's very moving. I can imagine that this boy will become a national treasure in decades to come," referencing Yoshizawa's hit movie "National Treasure," to which Yoshizawa smiled shyly. Elaiza Ikeda and Yu Hatanaka of "Oswald" also appeared at the event.
"Pokemon LEGENDS ZA" will be released on October 16th. Set in Miare City, an urban development project aiming to create a city where humans and Pokemon can coexist, players become Pokemon trainers and take on various events and incidents that occur in the city.
